Dash Between: Emil John Evin, 88, Proud First-Generation American, Proud Marine

Emil John Evin, then the oldest member of Marine Corps League Medina County Detachment, gives a salute as his wife, Frankie, looks on at the Marine Corps Ball in 2008. (Photo courtesy of the family.)

Emil John Evin believed his life was spared for a reason, when only he and one other member of his company got out of Iwo Jima alive during World War II.

Evin, a charter member of the Marine Corps League's Medina County chapter, who lived to be 88, filled the years since escaping the bloody battle by working at least two jobs at a time to support his family, helping others and serving his community.

Click here to read the Dash Between March 6, 1923, when he was born in Cleveland, and July 17, 2011, when he died at age 88. The story was published in the Aug. 8, 2011, edition of the Medina County Gazette.

To view the photo gallery that accompanies Evin's story, click here.

Frankie Cannon and Emil John Evin, known to friends as Frankie and Johnny, were married Oct. 21, 1945, in Washington, D.C. (Photo courtesy of the family.)

Dash Between: George Hoover, old-fashioned country doctor

George Hoover (Photo courtesy of the family.)

George Hoover made house calls, accepted produce and chickens from patients in payment for his services and served his community - Oberlin, Ohio - on school boards, on city government commissions and through Kiwanis and other service organizations.

Click here to read about the Dash Between Nov. 19, 1921, when Hoover was born near Johnstown, Pa., and June 9, 2011, when he died at age 89. The story was published in the July 24, 2011, edition of the Elyria Chronicle-Telegram.

View his photo gallery here.

George Hoover often took his dog, Capricorn, on house calls. Capricorn obediently waited in the car, while Hoover saw his patients. (Photo courtesy of the family.)

Dash Between: Gladys Pease, 92, Seville municipal utilities retiree, prolific cook

Gladys Pease dressed in pioneer garb for the annual GiantFest in Seville, Ohio.

Gladys Gordon Pease

Gladys Pease retired as a clerk with the Seville (Ohio) Board of Public Affairs, which handles electric, water and sewer services for the community.

She also served as longtime secretary for the Seville Historical Society, which coordinates the city's annual GiantFest to honor Capt. Martin Bates and his wife, Anna, who were known as the world's tallest couple and lived in the Medina County town in the late 1800s.

Pease was especially known for preparing an abundance of dishes for club meetings, community events and family functions.

Click here to read about the Dash Between Oct. 21, 1918, when Pease was born Gladys Gordon in Rittman, Ohio, and June 5, 2011, when she died at age 92. The story was published in the July 4, 2011, edition of the Medina County Gazette.

Clicek here to view her photo gallery.

Kenneth and Gladys Pease, 1943.

Dash Between: Tom D. and Jean C. Bowen, anything but average

Jean Bowen receives her associate's degree in data processing in 1971 and a kiss from acting president of Lorain County Community College, her husband, Thomas D. Bowen. (Photo provided by the family.)

Tom D. and Jean C. Bowen, community leaders in Elyria, Ohio, were married 67 years and died within three weeks of one another.

During his Dash Between Sept. 4, 1920, when he was born Thomas Duluth Bowen in Duluth, Minn., and May 29, 2011, when he died at age 90, Tom served as the first treasurer of Lorain County Community College, co-founded the Firelands Chapter of the Ohio Society of Certified Public Accountants and belonged to the Elyria Rotary, Elyria Kiwanis and Erie Shores Girl Scout Council board.

His wife, who was born Jean Crisp in Elyria on Feb. 18, 1922, and died June 18, 2011, at age 89, spent much of her Dash Between volunteering and holding leadership posts with the Girl Scouts, YWCA, PTA and United Methodist Women. In 1974, she received the title of Beta Sigma Phi First Lady of Elyria for her community service.

Both Tom and Jean served on the administrative board of Elyria's First United Methodist Church, quietly tried to make a difference in their community and raised four children for personal success and community service.

Click here to read the Bowens' "Double Dash Between" that was published July 3, 2011, in the Elyria Chronicle-Telegram and here to view their photo gallery.



Jean and Tom D. Bowen, 1995. (Photo courtesy of the family.)

Dash Between: Paul Goode, 58, father, fisherman, hunter, coach

Paul Goode, silhouetted against the waters of the St. Lawrence Seaway in the Thousand Islands area of Canada, where he fished since childhood. (Photo courtesy of the family.)

Paul E. Goode's children say he was more than just a father to them.

"He was like my best friend," his son Gordon said. "We hunted, we fished, we camped. He treated us like equals sometimes. He always viewed us as his friends and not (as) his kids.”

When his four kids were young, Goode served as an adult volunteer/advisor/coach for their various activities, including baseball, softball, 4-H and Boy Scouts.

The auto mechanic from North Ridgeville, Ohio, who died of complications from cancer May 11, 2011, at age 58, also taught his kids, “Never give up on anything. Remember that life’s too short to worry about the little things.”

Click here to read Goode's Dash Between, which appropriately was published in the Father's Day 2011 edition (June 19, 2011) of the Elyria Chronicle-Telegram, and here to view his photo gallery.

Little Paul Eugene Goode and his father, Paul Edward Goode, show off the fish they caught in Canada in 1956. (Photo courtesy of the family.)

Dash Between: Les Slaman, 78, dentist, outdoorsman, trainer of bird dogs

Les Slaman with his dogs
Annie and Sam around 2007.
(Photo courtesy of the family.)

Les Slaman, who had been a dentist in Bay Village, trained English Setters and Weimaraners for bird hunting and field trials at his farm in Lodi.

The Dash Between Dec. 9, 1932, when he was born in Cleveland, and May 13, 2011, when he died at age 78, includes stories about his dog training philosophy, his playing baseball and basketball at Lakewood High School and his appearing on Captain Penny's children's TV show on WEWS TV to promote the proper way to brush teeth.

Click here to read his Dash in the June 6, 2011, edition of the Medina County Gazette and here to view his photo gallery.

Les Slaman after pheasant hunting on a farm in Creston, Iowa, with dog Willie in 1959.(Photo courtesy of the family.)

Dash Between: Dan Brattoli, 89, Army Air Forces pilot, Distinguished Flying Cross recipient

1st Lt. Dan Brattoli, a tactical reconnaissance pilot, sits on the wing of a P-51 Mustang fighter aircraft, which bears the nickname of his wife, Vernie. He received the Distinguished Flying Cross and Air Medal with two Oak Leaf Clusters for his service during World War II. (Photo courtesy of the family.)

As a kid, Dan Brattoli built wooden model airplanes with flaps that worked through a lever inside and a tail that could be moved by a tiny joystick in the cab of the plane.

His love of flight and of country led to his serving in the Army Air Forces as a tactical reconnaissance pilot, who served in the Philippines during World War II. He left the service with a Distinguished Flying Cross and Air Medal with two Oak Leaf Clusters.

After the war, Brattoli frequented Ohio airfields, where he rented planes and took members of his family for rides until he was around 50 years old.

Click here to read the story in the June 5, 2011, edition of the Elyria Chronicle-Telegram about Brattoli's wartime service and the rest of The Dash Between Sept. 6, 1921, when the retired Elyria carpenter was born in New Lexington, Ohio, and May 4, 2011, when he died at age 89.

View photos showing Brattoli at various stages of life at this link.

Veronica and Dan Brattoli often could be seen holding hands, even in their later years. (Photo courtesy of the family.)